Hurricane Matthew is just miles away from Cape Canaveral and it is still heading north with two nuclear power stations and Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in its path. Cape Canaveral was last hit by a major storm in 2005 when it was battered by Hurricane Wilma. But since then the Space Shuttle program has shut down and the Kennedy Space Center is nowadays leased out by Nasa to private users like Elon Musk's SpaceX company and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. The storm was due to arrive on shore on Friday north of Palm Beach County, which has a population of 1.4 million people, before pushing along the Interstate 95 corridor towards Jacksonville, according to the National Hurricane Center. The St Lucie and Turkey Point nuclear reactors are now directly in its path.

Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday to help get 1 million people inland from the coast. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Matthew, so that 1 million people can safely and comfortably leave the coast. Officials hope to avoid a repeat of Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina, which caused major damage to South Florida in 2005, and Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, leveled much of the city of Homestead in 1992. The Miami forecasters issued a hurricane warning for the area north of Golden Beach near Fort Lauderdale to Sebastian Inlet, meaning hurricane force winds of 74 mph or higher are expected within two days.

The fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade slammed into the Bahamas early on Thursday, intensifying as it barreled towards the southeast US coast where millions of residents heeded warnings to flee inland. Roadways in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as Hurricane Matthew approached, packing storm surges, heavy rain and sustained winds that accelerated overnight to around 125 miles (205 km) per hour. Matthew, which killed at least 26 people and damaged swathes of homes in southern Haiti, was predicted to strengthen from a Category 3 to 4 storm en route to eastern Florida. Landfall was expected there on Thursday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, extending its hurricane warning area further north into Georgia in its 6 am EST (1000GMT) advisory. "Everyone in our state must prepare now for a direct hit," Florida Governor Scott told a news conference in Tallahassee on Wednesday.

Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday to help get 1 million people inland from the coast. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Matthew, so that 1 million people can safely and comfortably leave the coast. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- People boarded up beach homes, schools closed and officials ordered evacuations along the East Coast on Wednesday as Hurricane Matthew tore through the Bahamas and took aim at Florida, where the governor urged coastal residents to "leave now" if they were able. The Miami forecasters issued a hurricane warning for the area north of Golden Beach near Fort Lauderdale to Sebastian Inlet, meaning hurricane force winds of 74 mph or higher are expected within two days.

Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday to help get 1 million people inland from the coast. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Matthew, so that 1 million people can safely and comfortably leave the coast. Officials hope to avoid a repeat of Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina, which caused major damage to South Florida in 2005, and Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, leveled much of the city of Homestead in 1992. The Miami forecasters issued a hurricane warning for the area north of Golden Beach near Fort Lauderdale to Sebastian Inlet, meaning hurricane force winds of 74 mph or higher are expected within two days.